Shloka 19
स तत्र राजा तं वीर॑ शरसंघैरनेकश: । अर्दयामास निशितैराशीविषविषोपमै:,राजा बभ्रुवाहनने वहाँ अपने वीर पिताको विषैले साँपोंके समान जहरीले और तेज किये हुए सैकड़ों बाण-समूहोंद्वारा बींधकर अनेक बार पीड़ित किया
sa tatra rājā taṃ vīraṃ śarasaṃghair anekaśaḥ | ardayāmāsa niśitair āśīviṣaviṣopamaiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: There the king repeatedly assailed that hero with volleys of arrows—keen-edged and venomous like poisonous serpents—piercing him again and again and causing him grievous pain. The scene underscores how, in the blindness of battle and rivalry, even the bonds of kinship can be overridden by the harsh momentum of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between kṣatriya conduct in battle and the claims of kinship: warfare can drive one to inflict severe harm even upon a revered opponent, reminding the reader that dharma in conflict is fraught and that violence carries real suffering regardless of justification.
In the encounter described, the king repeatedly strikes the opposing hero with many sharp arrows likened to venomous serpents, wounding and tormenting him—an intense moment within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s martial episode.